The paddle-whacking pains behind “Batch ’81”

November 22, 2017

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Photo scans from Batch ’81: The Making of a Mike de Leon Film

Mike de Leon’s Batch ’81 tells a story many of us are familiar with—the struggle to belong at all costs. A film about the violence of a fraternity with the mustachioed macho male as its protagonist, it says a lot about masculinity in the Philippines. To suffer at the hands of a so-called brother is an odd way to die, yet it’s a story often told on a newspaper’s front page, even to this day. Certainly, the struggle to be accepted into a brotherhood—rife with mental, sometimes physical, torment—rings true for a lot of us gay Filipinos. And for our country, what resonates still is the looming threat of a dictatorship overpowering our freedom.

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Recently restored by the Asian Film Archives, Batch ’81 once again swaggered onto the big screen, closing last month’s QCinema International Film Festival. Accompanying this grand re-entry is Batch ’81: The Making of a Mike de Leon Film, a behind-the-scenes book which includes interviews with the cast and crew, photos from the set, and the first draft of the screenplay. For author Jerome Gomez, writing the book was simply “an honor,” having been a Mike de Leon fan ever since he first saw Kisapmata as a seven-year-old boy in the province.

TEAM talked to Jerome about mindless masculinity, the beauty of Mark Gil, and why the film’s message still stings today like the whack of a paddle.

Batch ’81 is a homegrown cinematic classic, but what got you interested in writing a book about it?

In 2014, when Mark Gil died, I was still with Esquire Philippines, and I was a features editor there. So I suggested for a sort of tribute for Mark Gil, who was the lead actor in the movie. It came out in the November 2014 issue. He died September of that year. That was that. Last year, I think the Asian Film Archives offered to shoulder the expenses for the restoration of two of Mike’s movies—Sister Stella L and Batch ’81. To coincide with the restoration, they wanted a book to accompany the release of the restored film.

Akala ko nga they can just put the article out and that was that, but they wanted more interviews, so we added more interviews with most of the creative team. I interviewed a lot of the actors in 2014, and the interviews that happened this year were just with the creative team…and Mike, kase nung 2014, e-mail interview lang yung sa kanya. He was a recluse for 17 years, so he’s just now coming out again, and because it’s his book, he agreed to be interviewed.

What was striking about the screenplay included in the book?

It’s the first draft of the screenplay, so that you can see the difference between the original idea, and what the film goes through along the way. ‘Cause when it becomes a film, it’s already different—so different—from the first draft.

What were your thoughts when you first saw the film?

You could see how sophisticated it was, how sparingly told it was, but also very powerful.

And after writing this book?

I have a richer appreciation for Batch ’81, knowing everything that happened on the set, knowing what it had to go through. It was a difficult time making movies during those years. Those were really good years in Philippine movies because we used to produce 300 movies a year during those times. But it was also weird because there was censorship and it was the martial law years, so you can’t really say everything you want to say. And when I saw it again during the premiere, restored, I was just blown away by it. Besides it being brilliant, it was also funny pala.

The Filipino male’s obsession with fraternities, even to the death, is definitely hysterical. Why do you think this problem is so persistent?

We do like to belong to a group. That’s something very Filipino… I don’t really think about those things [Laughs]. I’m not very political, but I guess it’s that. We always like belonging to a group. We’re not the type to uphold opinions that are different from the more popular one.

How do you think this film portrays Filipino men?

In a way, very weak. No matter how determined Sid Lucero was to become the master, he was really kind of depending on the strength of this idea of a brotherhood, so that he can feel powerful. They don’t really have their own minds. They’re not very intelligent, highly driven men. They’re just kind of very weak, very dependent on their past, very dependent on their situation. In this idea of brotherhood, everyone’s decision is upheld, not just [your own].

Do you also see a queer subtext in the movie?

I don’t see anything queer about it. At least, I did not. I think in the book Mike explains it that in the stage presentation where they all dressed in drag, it’s not really to show that they’ve become women, but they have become other people—that they’ve changed. They’re not anymore what they were, that they changed into something else. So wearing drag and doing the entire cabaret number and clothes inspired by that musical, it symbolizes how they’ve been transformed into a different person. But I don’t see anything queer about it… Of course, it was Mark in his most beautiful. It was the age when he was really the most handsome. Rod Leido is really quite a looker. He was a model. Just one of the most beautiful faces.

Based on your interviews with the cast and crew, what was the atmosphere like during the production, given that it was made during the martial law years and that it’s a controversial film?

I don’t think there was any controversy during the filming connected to martial law. It all just came after, when it was going to be shown, because for it to be shown it needed to pass through the censors. When it went through the censors, it was all about the violence of it, because it was really a violent movie. It’s probably one of the most violent films in Philippine cinema. Certainly one of the most violent I’ve seen.

People say that the film is like a portrait of that time in our history. Was there an awareness among the cast and crew that they were making such an important film?

Yes, they were aware of that. Mike, during that time, already had the reputation as a very serious filmmaker. It was Raquel Villavicencio, one of the scriptwriters, who said that they knew it was going to be an important movie. They knew it was going to be a statement film. They knew that the fraternity was going to be a micro-representation of what was happening in the country.

What are your hopes for this book?

I guess that just more people read it. But more than anything, for the restored movie to have a chance of screening again in a bigger and more regular set-up. Because I think every Filipino needs to see it. Not just because of how relevant it still is, but because of how brilliant it is, and how fun it is, and how intelligent it is. It’s just mind-blowing.

What do you think its relevance is today?

It’s relevant today because there’s a threat that we are going to be under martial law again. It’s relevant today because there was a recent death by hazing. I think it will continue to be relevant as long as we are led by people who don’t know how to use power for the benefit of the people.

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About Team

TEAM tackles how gay Filipino men relate their identity, from fuckups to fantasies, to where to go for music you can actually dance to. We may not have proper rights in our country but we’re claiming some authority by getting our words and ideas on page. And though we lack public places to convene, an open publication (and wide-open digital space) is a good place to start.